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Category Archives: Swimming

“Watching the world’s last ocean swimming elephant is a real delight” posted to sploid.gizmodo.com by James BakerThis video(scroll down for videos)features the remarkable 64-year old Rajan, the world’s last ocean swimming elephant who lives on a beautiful archipelago in the Bay of Bengal.Rajan, who weighs around four tons, once worked hard carrying lumber between islands but is now retired—although he still takes the occasional swim for fun.It takes ten years to train a working, swimming elephant and it is no longer considered economically viable with the availability of modern transportation. However elephants are still valued workers and this was reflected in the $40,000 price that Rajan’s keepers paid for him. They repaid this money through a variety of means including hiring him out on photo shoots to photographers.

The following excerpt and photos are taken from “Fetch your trunks – the only elephant in the world that loves going for a swim in the sea”… by Anna Edwards, published on dailymail.co.uk 12 June 2013…

The retired working animal is the only elephant in the world to swim in the sea, and loves to take a dip off the Andaman Islands, an archipelago that is part of India in the Bay of Bengal.The Asian elephant is a retired working animal called Rajan and is the only elephant in the world to swim in the sea.

He was trained to swim to haul logs out to boats off the Islands, but when the practice was banned, enough money was raised to keep Rajan where he was in retirement. His duties have been taken up by motor boats and now he just swims for fun and allows divers to have a dip with him. Photographer Wolfgang Zwicknagl, from Austria said it was amazing what a good swimmer this huge animal is. Wolfgang, 40, said: ‘We have been told that Rajan goes swimming in the sea just two or three times per month. ‘He is not forced to go into the water and if he doesn’t want to, then you dive alone. Water baby! Now Rajan just swims for fun and allows divers to take a dip with him.The 64-year-old animal moves perfectly in the ocean and uses his trunk as a snorkel. ‘But when his Mahout brought him to the beach, he stood there for a minute, took a breath and walked into the ocean. ‘It is almost impossible to explain how amazed we were when he started the dive with us. ‘He moves perfectly in the ocean, using his trunk as a snorkel and moved much quicker than we expected, so taking photos was surprisingly exhausting. ‘The tips of his tusks have been cut slightly as he had some difficulties moving his trunk.’ Wolfgang added: ‘Rajan is a retired working elephant who enjoys his pension on the Andaman Islands. ‘While elephants love in a dip in the river, Rajan is the last and only one who swims in the ocean, as the painful education to do this is not allowed anymore. Wolfgang Zwicknagl took the pictures in the Andaman Islands, an archipelago that is part of India in the bay of Bengal.Splashing about: Despite their large frames, elephants are capable swimmers ‘Working elephants have been used at the Andamans for bringing logged trees to boats waiting in the sea and eventually to swim to the next island. This required a cruel education. The 64-year-old animal, that weighs between three and four tons, was bought into freedom approximately five years ago. He would have been sold to a temple in south India otherwise to continue his working elephant career. Wolfgang said: ‘He was definitely less exhausted than us (after the dive).’ Despite their large frames, elephants are capable swimmers. They have been recorded swimming for up to six hours without touching the bottom, and have travelled as far as 30 miles… Wolfgang Zwicknagl said the tips of Raajan’s tusks have been cut slightly as he had some difficulties moving his trunk.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2340192/Fetch-trunks–elephant-world-loves-going-swim-sea.html

The Youtube video, “Curacao Sea Aquarium Park”, published on May 18, 2012 is described as follows: ‘Plan a Curacao Sea Aquarium Park vacation for the entire family. Come and enjoy the daily tours at the aquarium with the sea lion show, get a chance to feed the sharks or just enjoy the exciting dolphin show. For the thrill seekers we have the submarine, Curasub, going to 1,000ft deep or interact with a dolphin up close at Dolphin Academy. And the end of the day you can stay in one of the rooms of the boutique hotel, the Dolphin Suites hotel, which is completely adapted to guests with special needs.’

With many thanks and much admiration, the following is a ‘reblog’ , dated July 22, 2013, from my very favorite blogger, Lesley Carter, of Bucket List Publications.

Anderson Cooper dives unprotected with great white sharks and Michael Rutzen, known as “The Sharkman”, a South African who’s spent more time up close with the ocean’s most feared predator than anyone else.

According to Rutzen ,”the great white sharks are far from mindless killing machines – great whites are smart, curious and not out to kill humans.” He says that when looking for a great white shark he can swim with, he needs one who is calm, curious and one he refers to as a ‘player’ – so relaxed, has a nice personality and woke up on the ‘right side of the reef’.

Michael Rutzen plunges freely with a great white shark. Rutzen eats, sleeps, breathes and dreams of sharks and is on a one-man crusade to prove that rather than being the crazed man-eater from Jaws they are in fact sociable and approachable creatures to anyone who understands their body language. Uploaded byhalitkiraz on Aug 22, 2009

I trust that you enjoyed these videos and will share. Let’s hear from you ~ we appreciate your feedback.

We are still not getting a break from the persistent intense heat wave here in Ottawa and surrounding area. According to an Environment Canada Meteorologist, July has been the driest month on record.

YouTube video intro: ‘Now that summer is most definitely here, people are realizing how hot it can really get. So to cool off and relax, Frenchcompilation artist zapatou (Luc Bergeron) made this Water Time compilation from famous online videos involving H2O.’

Zapatou’s comments: “Hello!,I really love to discover other people. I’m the kind of person who thinks that you can grow up from other people’s experience.I have an unconditional passion for video editing, because by this medium I can share my emotions, my feeling to my audiences. By this medium, I can get you into my world.”

Mr Bean goes to the swimming pool and tries to use the children’s slides. When he gets told off he heads off to the high dive board but is too scared to jump off. Classic Mr Bean clip from ‘The Curse of Mr Bean’.

The first episode of the original Mr Bean series starring Rowan Atkinson was first broadcast on 1st January 1990. Since then Mr Bean has become known all over the world. Created by Rowan Atkinson, Richard Curtis and Robin Driscoll, there were only 14 episode of the live action series ever made.